The Latest in Real Estate

Mililani is a popular market, thanks to the town's built-in amenities and highly rated public schools. And with the median sales price of condominiums hovering around $285,000, Mililani is an affordable option for house hunters.

Short sales can be challenging buys, but bargains can be had if you’re up to the task. This Kapolei Knolls short sale has been on the market for a week and was reduced by $20,000. Similarly sized homes in the community are listed for $654,000 to $739,000, so this house is priced to move.

November is traditionally a pretty quiet month for home resales, so last month’s unimpressive numbers come as little surprise. Overall, the numbers for single-family home resales stayed the course while condo sales fell flat.

According to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure listings, as of October this year, Hawaii had nearly 3,600 REO (real estate owned), or foreclosed, properties. “Any time you hear the word REO, a lender has foreclosed on the property and is putting it on the market for sale,” says Century 21 All Islands realtor and REO specialist Mathew Ngo, who says that the greatest concentration of foreclosures on Oahu is on the island’s leeward side.

The famous-person-stayed-here sales strategy is always tricky because, as any high-school teen could tell you, popularity is a fickle thing. For instance, I highly doubt that “house once rented by actor Charlie Sheen” would be a strong selling point. Whether “President Obama vacationed here” is an enticing enough tagline depends, these days, on where you fall in the red-and-blue divide.

Several luxury condominiums in The Pinnacle Honolulu will be open this weekend, a boon for anyone thinking of buying in the luxe building. The Pinnacle, which was built in 2008, is an in-demand address largely because of its downtown location and unique design. There are 36 floors with no more than two private residences per floor for a maximum of 50 residences. With the exception of the expansive two, two-story penthouses, units range between 1,545 square feet for a half floor to just over 3,000 square feet for an entire floor. Another unique feature is the biometrically keyed elevators that open directly into private foyers in each half-floor residence.

This column has afforded me an all-access pass to some of Oahu’s most rarefied homes, a privilege I thoroughly enjoy and am happy to share with you. And while I’m glad to pass on the backstories of homes across the island, I’m even more pleased when you, the readers, have the chance to see it for yourselves. Which is why all of you with even the slightest interest in local architecture need to reserve a private tour of the Liljestrand House, which is considered to be one of Vladimir Ossipoff’s finest residential designs.

With 700 feet of water frontage on three sides of the property, this Vladimir Ossipoff-designed home’s dominant architectural feature is the ocean itself. Built in 1964, the Paiko Lagoon estate is surrounded by conservation lands, the lagoon as well as the ocean, offering panoramic views from just about every room.

Given architect Vladimir Ossipoff’s influence and popularity, his homes, when they come on the market, are highly coveted and command hefty price tags. For instance, there are about five Vladimir Ossipoff-designed homes currently for sale, most located on the island’s windward side and all listed for more than $3 million.

Kahala’s Kai Nani neighborhood is an intimate enclave of about 30 homes running along the eastern side of Waialae Country Club. Homes here hold their value, due to both the lack of inventory and the big-price-tag-commanding golf course and direct oceanfront locations.

Many of you may recognize this opulent Kahala estate from this magazine’s 25 Most Expensive Homes in Hawaii article, which appeared in the September issue. Built by Honolulu attorney David Schutter in the 1980s, the property, which was ranked as the 17th most expensive home in Hawaii with an assessed value of $19.2 million, is currently owned by Kirin Planning.

I’ve seen old condominium and hotel advertisements that trumpeted Makaha as the “new Waikiki,” and while their claims clearly didn’t pan out, it’s interesting to see Makaha through the back-then lens, when it was virgin territory with beautiful beaches, epic surf and some of the island’s best fishing (most of which still holds true).

I’ve had my fair share of maniacal landlords (you know who you are), and, as a result, I’ve acquired a thorough knowledge of Hawaii’s Residential Landlord-Tenant Code. But when I had my first crazy-landlord run-in, I didn’t know where to turn. The following information has saved me from a number of bad situations.

Schrader’s Windward Country Inn, the only hotel on Kaneohe Bay, has sold for $3 million, $900,000 less than the asking price. For 30-plus years, owner Ralph Schrader, who recently passed away, welcomed guests to the intimate-though-aging inn, which is situated at Laenani Point in Kaneohe.

CNBC.com ran a fun story last week highlighting several houses featured in popular TV shows and movies that have recently sold or are currently on the market. Included on the list is the mansion featured in the Lost Season 3 episode, “Tricia Tanaka is Dead.”

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About Our Writer

Rachel Ross is a Realtor at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hawai‘i Realty. Raised in Hawai‘i Kai, she previously worked in public relations and marketing where she assisted some of O‘ahu’s biggest community developers, educators and businesses. She loves connecting people and says that real estate is a form of matchmaking. She is mom to three teenagers and an avid runner, and notes that the hour each day of pavement-pounding is the only teen-angst-free peace and quiet she gets all day. rachelr@bhhshawaii.com